The news is yet another blow to struggling Abbey’s employees for whom the fresh announcement takes the total figure for redundancies to 4,000.
The decisive action taken by the Spanish parent company comes despite it recording healthy profit for the first quarter of E1.185 billion, a 38.5% increase on the previous year. The figure has been boosted by the inclusion of Abbey’s finances for the first time and according to Banco Santander roughly half its profits increase came from Abbey’s contribution of E154.3 million.
Describing the situation, Francisco Gomez-Roldan, Abbey’s chief executive, said the bank had made a positive start to the year, as revenues stabilized and cost-cutting plans were ahead of schedule. Abbey has already reduced operating costs by GBP20 million and is working towards a target of GBP150 million by the end of the year. However, in a quote from the FT he warned we still have a long way to go.
It is too early for the changes we are making to have had a meaningful impact on sales performance, but the first-quarter results nonetheless include some encouraging early signs, Gomez-Roldan concluded.
Around 1,000 members of staff have already left Abbey through redundancy. The remainders are expected to go before the year is out.
